Senate committee plans Kavanaugh vote for Friday

Senate Judiciary Committee to Decide on Brett Kavanaugh's Appointment to the Supreme Court on Friday Morning, Less Than 24 Hours After Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford Appeared Before Panel to Discuss Ford's Allegations That Kavanaugh Sexually Assaulted Her more than 30 years ago.

In accordance with the rules of the committee, the judiciary must provide for a vote in committee three days in advance. But the committee said the vote will only continue if a "majority of the members" of the 21-member committee is ready to vote on Friday.

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The Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Can bring Kavanaugh to the helm if the candidate receives a favorable or unfavorable recommendation. Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) Is undecided on the appointment of Kavanaugh and is the key vote on the panel; Flake did not vote in the Senate this week and did not comment on his current thoughts on Kavanaugh.

"For Republicans to plan a Friday vote on Brett Kavanaugh, two days before Dr. Blasey Ford had the opportunity to tell his story, it's outrageous," said Sen Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif .), Member of the committee. The early Republicans demanded that Dr. Blasey Ford testify immediately. Now, Republicans do not even need to hear it before proceeding to a vote. "

Senate Republicans hired a lawyer to question Ford at Thursday's hearing on a charge of sexual assault against Kavanaugh, but refuse to release his name. The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), told POLITICO on Tuesday that "we do not announce the name of his security".

Asked whether Republicans have received any indication of threats against the lawyer they are preparing to use, Grassley said, "I do not know, but I guess we're just showing caution."

Republicans say that only Grassley knows the identity of the new council and does not tell anyone. The Senate Democrats immediately criticized the secret of the GOP, which mockingly pointed out that the 11 Republicans of the Judiciary Committee were men.

"Nobody can know, it's a mystery," said Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) On Tuesday afternoon. questioner. "It's interesting that our Republican colleagues, who want to hurry [nomination] through, are afraid to question Dr. Ford themselves and put a substitute there. "

The coming and going of the GOP Women Councilors was part of a day of bitter partiality as both parties geared up for Thursday's hearing. And he could only get hotter. As the committee continued with a vote on Kavanaugh, a lawyer representing Deborah Ramirez accused Republicans on the panel "refused to meet all the scheduled appointments" to discuss his allegation against the judge.

"Mrs. Ramirez is ready to swear to the FBI under penalty of perjury, why will the Senate Judiciary Committee not accept it?" Colorado lawyer John Clune tweeted on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump and White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders started the day angrily against Feinstein and other Democrats for dealing with Ford's allegations. Schumer responded by attacking Kavanaugh's credibility, suggesting that the Federal Court of Appeal judge would have lied in his confirmation hearings.

The stakes could not be higher for Kavanaugh, the future of the Supreme Court and the two sides moving toward the mid-term elections. Republicans, however, clearly have more to lose. Failure to secure Kavanaugh's nomination through the Senate confirmation process would lead to heavy criticism from Trump and the conservative base, and let Republicans scramble to get a different candidate into a lame session .

With this in mind, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Described by a Republican as "thundering", was already warning his colleagues that he would keep the Senate all weekend to get a final confirmation vote. Kavanaugh early next week. The new mandate of the Supreme Court begins on October 1 st.

"I am confident we will win, I am confident it will be confirmed in the very near future," McConnell told reporters on Tuesday.

McConnell lobbied the undecided GOP senators to support Kavanaugh. He met for 45 minutes Tuesday afternoon with Senator Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), a moderate critic of the undecided GOP. Murkowski refused to say what message she gave to the GOP leader, refusing to answer questions about whether she would vote for or against Kavanaugh.

"We are going to have this hearing on Thursday and that is the next step. I think it's a very important step, "said Murkowski.

Other undecided Republicans – including Susan Collins of Maine, Bob Corker of Tennessee and Flake – also say they want to see Ford and Kavanaugh testify Thursday before making a decision.

The question of who will conduct the Republican interrogation of Ford and Kavanaugh during this session is crucial. Republicans are haunted by images of male senators grilling Anita Hill during Justice Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearings in 1991. Women's reactions to Hill's treatment were enormous and Republicans feared that everything would be wrong. redo 40 days before the mid-term elections.

In a personal letter released Monday, Grassley told Ford, a 51-year-old California professor, that he was "committed to treating you with fairness and respect." At the hearing on Thursday.

Although Ford's attorney wrote to Grassley Monday night that his staff "still have not answered a number of outstanding issues" regarding the hearing, including more details on the The Lawyer's way, the Republican of Iowa made it clear that he considers the audience as stuck.

Taking into account Ford's desire to avoid a "circus-like environment," Grassley agreed to limit the press's presence in the hearing room and provide him with protection. through the American police. "I do not know what else we can do," said Grassley, adding that "I do not know any problem" remaining.

However, even before Ford went to the Capitol, the Democrats criticized the GOP leadership's plan to keep the Senate in session to confirm Kavanaugh as proof that the Republicans had already decided to ignore Ford's accusations.

The Republicans, however, said the candidate's confirmation should not be pushed further.

"There is no reason to delay this any longer, unless something new comes out of the hearing on Thursday," said John Cornyn, Texas. "As you can see, people come out of the woodwork with incredible and unsubstantiated claims, and I think you can expect that kind of nonsense to continue."

Trump mocked Ramirez's claims on Tuesday, who told the New Yorker that Kavanaugh had exposed himself while they were both students at Yale University more than 30 years ago. Kavanaugh denied Ramirez's allegations and other press organizations were not able to corroborate his claim.

During an appearance at the United Nations General Assembly with Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez, Trump embarked on a Kavanaugh defense and called the allegations against him "unfounded".

"36 years ago, the accusations are totally unfounded – I mean, you look at this, as president of a big country – Colombia – you have to say," How is that possible? "In this regard, no one has ever heard of it, and now a new charge is being laid," Trump said.

"And [Ramirez] did say that it was maybe not him and that there were gaps and she said that she was completely intoxicated and that she had lost everything. And she does not know it was him, but maybe it was him. "Oh, damn it, do not make him a Supreme Court judge because of that." It's a con-play played by the Democrats.

With the appointment of Kavanaugh in trouble, the White House offensive was designed to blame the Democrats for the debacle by trying to support GOP support. Yet, at present, Kavanaugh does not have the votes to be confirmed, Republicans admit in private.

Sanders chose Feinstein for his harsh criticism, accusing the California Democrat of all the controversy. "I find it shameful and disgusting, and she must certainly take responsibility for what is happening now," she said.

Again Despite Trump's tweet, Sanders said the White House was open to Ramirez. Senate Republicans said they would determine witnesses and repeatedly said they would limit themselves to Ford and Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh himself granted an extraordinary interview to Fox News on Monday night, an unprecedented move for a candidate still studying in the Senate.

Feinstein, Schumer and other Democrats countered the GOP's pressure on Kavanaugh by demanding that the White House authorize the FBI to investigate Ford's allegations, which the Trump administration refused to accept.

"The best way the process is fair and to reach the truth in a respectful way is an FBI background check investigation," Schumer said. "If you want the truth, you're asking for an FBI background check investigation. If you are afraid of the truth, you avoid a FBI background investigation.

Schumer also demanded McConnell's apology for "labeling his allegation against Judge Kavanaugh" as a "smear". He should apologize to her, and he should do it immediately. "

The FBI said it has completed its substantive investigation into Kavanaugh and no longer has any role to play in this fight for the nomination.